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IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

The IAEA is the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field. It is committed to the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear science and technology, contributing to international peace and security and to the United Nations' sustainable development goals. The IAEA Statute was approved by the IAEA Statute Conference held at United Nations Headquarters on 23 October 1956. It entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Statute was amended three times in accordance with the procedure set out in Article XVIII, paragraphs A and C. On 31 January 1963, amendments to the first sentence of then Article V, paragraph A.3, entered into force; the Statute, as so amended, was further amended on 1 June 1973 by amendments to paragraphs A to D of the same Article (involving the renumbering of the subparagraphs of paragraph A), which entered into force; and on 28 December 1989, an amendment to the preamble to paragraph A.1 entered into force. All these amendments have been incorporated into the text of the Statute, thereby superseding all earlier versions. The IAEA was established in 1957 in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the discovery and diverse use of nuclear technology. The origins of the IAEA are the “Atoms for Peace” speech delivered by US President Eisenhower to the United Nations General Assembly on December 8, 1953. On July 29, 1957, President Eisenhower approved the Statute, marking the official birth of the IAEA. At a press conference following the signing ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, President Eisenhower recalled his December 1953 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, where he proposed the establishment of the IAEA. “In fact, we have done no more than crystallize a growing hope in many hearts in many places… that the splitting of the atom might lead to the unification of a whole divided world.” The IAEA is closely associated with nuclear technology and its controversial applications, both as a weapon and as a practical and useful tool. The ideas expressed by President Eisenhower in a 1953 speech helped shape the IAEA’s Statute, which was unanimously ratified by 81 countries in October 1956. The IAEA was established as the world’s “Atoms for Peace” organization within the United Nations family. From the outset, it was mandated to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technology in cooperation with its Member States and multiple partners around the world. Article II of the IAEA Statute sets out the objectives of the IAEA’s dual mission of promoting and controlling atomic energy. "The IAEA shall seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. The IAEA shall ensure, within its capabilities, that assistance provided by it, at its request or under its supervision or control is not used to further any military purpose." In October 1957, delegates to the First General Conference decided to establish the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The Old Grand Hotel next to the Vienna Opera served as the temporary headquarters of the IAEA until the opening of the Vienna International Centre in August 1979. The IAEA also has two regional offices, in Toronto, Canada (since 1979) and Tokyo, Japan (since 1984), and two liaison offices, in New York City, United States of America (since 1957) and Geneva, Switzerland (since 1965). The IAEA operates laboratories specializing in nuclear techniques in Vienna and Seibersdorf, Austria, which opened in 1961, and in Monaco since 1961.

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